I've just had the pleasure of completing a special two-week workshop at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital called Helping Hands. It comes as an offshoot of Magicana's My Magic Hands program, which I have been involved with now for close to ten years.

In an innovative treatment program, kids who have — for one medical reason or another — lost the use of one of their hands and had to re-learn how to use it. To speed up the process, the stronger hand is isolated through clever combination of foam, plastic and velcro, so all the work gets done with the in-training or "helping" hand.

Adding magic into the therapy puts a different spin on things. Rather than having to re-learn things that everyone knows how to do and take for granted, they get to learn things that no one knows how to do.

For reasons of confidentiality, I don't have any photos of the kids doing magic, but it got subway poster sized thank you gift from the class:

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Slaight Family Foundation.